“I did a lot of things in my life to make a living,” Lang says, “but I always knew I was going to do something like this.” He was involved in “Daktari,” the 1960s TV series about a veterinarian running an animal study center in Africa. The series was filmed in Palmdale, Peter says, but he vividly recalls visiting the set and getting to know the trainers and vets. The retired engineer and bridge builder is the son of movie and television director Otto Lang, best known for the Jimmy Stewart film “Call Northside 777,” and “Tora! Tora! Tora!”. Lang, however, quietly hung back as everyone left. I thought this would be the last time I would see it.” “I spend more time here than I do at the home I pay a mortgage on. They put her into a vehicle and she drove away, crying uncontrollably. She didn’t want to leave the animals, but they gave her no choice. Hearing of the fire, she rushed back and began doing what she could, herding animals out of wooden structures, opening gates so they could escape the flames, and grabbing birds - the only creatures small enough to be easily evacuated - and putting them in carriers.īy 11 p.m., 45 minutes after the first warning of fire, police officials arrived and ordered everyone to evacuate. The animals seemed to be acting oddly, and that evening when she tried to put the giraffes in their barn, they hadn’t wanted to go. Nikki Smith, animal collections administrator, had an inkling earlier in the day that something wasn’t quite right. Wrested awake by Jellison, Peter threw on some Levis and a hoodie, then he and Nancy drove through flames, escaping to the uncertain safety of the park, where staff was in the midst of evacuating overnight guests. A giraffe is photographed at the Safari West zoo on Monday, Oct. Jellison sent his family to safety, then turned his attention to the Langs. Within 45 minutes, it had spread and was headed straight for the park. The call came late that Sunday night, telling him of a fire on the mountain. The Langs lost their home, which was just up the road from the park.īrian Jellison, the ranch manager who has worked at Safari West for 17 years, remembers how warm it was that October day and how high the winds had been. Valuable equipment was destroyed, and the memories of that night and the days that followed are seared in their minds. Neither Safari West nor its staff survived the fire unscathed. That popularity continued through the summer and has remained steady, with up to 200 visitors taking the 3-hour park tour on weekdays and as many as 600 on weekends. Fans of the park also have returned in waves, anxious to see for themselves that everything is fine.īusiness is always slower in the winter, when the tent cabins are too cold to host overnight visitors, but last spring, Safari West found itself with a lot of bookings. People who had never heard of Safari West learned of it through reports of Lang’s heroic efforts, and they’ve been coming to visit ever since. It’s an uncomfortable truth that in some ways, the fire has helped business, he says. 20, says executive director Keo Hornbostel. Road closures, however, delayed the reopening until Nov. The park had narrowly escaped destruction and was ready to resume hosting visitors less than four weeks after the fire. He wanted a celebration with a rock ‘n’ roll band. Nancy Lang and Aphrodite Caserta, longtime director of marketing and communications for Safari West, had planned something small, but Peter Lang said no. Lang and his wife, Nancy, celebrated both the one-year anniversary of the miracle and the 25th birthday of the park with a huge party on Sunday. Lang stayed on his property during a fire storm a year ago to protect around 1,000 animals living at the zoo. To find out more about Safari West, go to West owner Peter Lang is photographed at his zoo on Monday, Oct. They start eating solid foods at about 2-3 weeks old and are fully weaned by the time they are five months old. Warthog piglets weigh 1-2 pounds at birth and usually come in litters of two or three. The new residents were, as expected, out of their nest and exploring about 10 days into their new lives. Mama warthog with one of her four babies born in early April at Safari West in Santa Rosa (Photo by Mark Pressler/Safari West via Bay City News) Officials from the 400-acre private facility said timing of the arrivals “could not have been better as our warthogs moved into a brand-new habitat in February, just in time to get their home ready for their new family!” Two of the four baby warthogs born in early April at Safari West in Santa Rosa (Photo by Mark Pressler/Safari West via Bay City News) The Santa Rosa wildlife preserve said in a statement Sunday “We are thrilled to announce the birth of four bouncing baby warthog piglets, or as we like to call them, warthoglets! Mom and Dad (Neiri and Pig Newton) are so proud of their three boisterous boys and gregarious girl, born at Safari West in early April.”
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